Reflections of a New World
by Mizuinu
Summary: Albel/Nel ! Albel and Nel share their thoughts on their new view on existence. Might be a one-shot if you don't review, might be a good story if you do XD * * PREQUEL to "The Sacred Gems" * *


**Reflections of a New World**

Fire glowed brightly in the training yard of the castle of Airyglyph. The wild flames flickered and crackled loudly, giving its surroundings a devilish essence.

Dark steel pierced the starry night sky. A warrior leaped into a back-flip, sword in hand, slicing a training dummy into five clean pieces. Red eyes opened slowly as he straightened to observe his job half-heartedly. The young man, known as Albel Nox, or 'Albel The Wicked', flicked his sword in circles to his left and right sides; a steady, but deadly barrier of steel surrounding him. The mere breeze of the sword's dance tore the remaining pieces of the dummy into shreds, and eventually, into dust. Albel allowed a soft breath to escape his lips as he ceased the mindless wrath of his blade. His ruby red eyes defied the stars that shined merrily in the sky.

He knew their secrets. He knew that the stars weren't gods or magical guides for the ones lost at sea. He knew for a fact that they were nothing but more planets just like his; with people just like his. And that they were all fabricated by some petty lunatic in search of riches and power. To him, everything that was once unknown and mystical had lost all of its enchantment.

Albel looked down at his blade and gritted his teeth in fury. A feral howl erupted from his lungs as he lunged the relic-sword against the wall of the training yard. A loud and bitter string of curses followed the sharp sound of steel penetrating rock as Albel fell to his knees.

Snow began to fall upon Airyglyph once more. The cold flakes melted unto coming in contact with the fiery but pale skin of the captain of the black-brigade. The katana known as the Crimson Scourge gleamed threateningly in the dying light of the fire, snow slowly smothering the vibrant light of the last burning embers with its cold droplets.

Albel stared at the mighty blade that his father had once wielded. He swiftly jammed his right hand between his teeth and bit down onto it in a desperate attempt at muffling a cry. The thought of his father being nothing but a creation for the sake of entertainment left nothing but wrath and grief in his soul.

_Is this some kind of joke? Was my father's death for nothing?! Were those terrible screams of agony and pain nothing but a production to ease someone else's boredom?!_ Albel thought bitterly as he clamped down so hard on his knuckles he drew blood.

A small gloved hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed it tenderly. Alerted by the sudden contact, Albel swung around his gauntlet, only for it to clash against a blade of Ryusen; a relic sword of Aquaria. Albel's wild crimson eyes made contact with heartrending jade ones.

Only one person could sneak up on him and survive; only one person could come to him with nothing but comfort and sympathy…only one person on that planet knew what he knew about the stars. The Crimson Blade and spy of Aquaria, Nel Zelpher.

Albel snapped out of his reverie and ripped his gaze away from the Aquarian.

"What are you doing here, Zelpher?" Albel gave his back to the fuchsia haired maiden as he irritably went to retrieve his blade from the rock wall.

Nel hesitated a few seconds before responding, observing the man's movements with light interest. After a few seconds of pondering she answered truthfully. "I…I'm not entirely sure."

Nel turned around and walked slowly to the edge of the training yard. When she reached the fence that kept her from falling to her demise, she climbed up onto it and surveyed the town of Airyglyph. Seeing the expansiveness of the city was an impressive site from the high castle wall. Her expression was enigmatic but somewhat sentimental as her unwavering gaze moved across the many buildings below.

Albel sheathed the Scourge and turned around to look at the spy. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of the woman standing on the edge of the castle. The wind came up from the town below and lifted her hair and scarf in an ethereal anti-gravity sense. Snow swirled around her form, though she was seemingly unfazed by the frigid temperature.

Mesmerized by the sight, a realization dawned upon him. Not everything had lost its magic. This world was no longer under the control of Luther. This ferocious, agile, powerful, yet beautiful woman was not under the control of the Creator. In fact, she had been a member of the group that defeated Luther and freed the universe. She herself contained all the possible magic he could ever ask for. She defied and defeated Control itself.

Albel chuckled lightly and shook his head, effectively drawing the attention of the Crimson Blade. "What's so funny?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her suspicious apparent.

"Nothing, actually." He approached the very fence she stood upon and laid his arms over it, resting his weight against the railing.

Together they stared at the towns' people going about their daily business; the children playing in the snow, the mothers searching bread for dinner and the merchants trying to sale their stock. Neither of them spoke, simply watching, for quite a while. Nel sat down on the fence and crossed her arms, the chilly night freezing her to the bone; she finally let the cold visibly affect her.

"They have no idea…" The soft whisper brought Albel's ruby eyes from the town to the woman sitting close to him.

Albel turned his eyes back to the children and his eyes softened with understanding. "No…they don't."

"What will their future be? What happens to us if we're good or if we're bad? Does anything we do on our very own affect the course of history…? What's the point of fighting…of protecting…? If in the end…it all turns to dust…hopelessly… There are no gods to protect the good…no gods to punish the evil… No hope to survive death or be rewarded in the end for your actions…! It's just us people…living on…and dying on…" Nel gritted her teeth and hugged herself tighter.

Albel pondered her words for a few minutes. Minutes went by in silence between the two. Finally he brought his eyes up to the stars and answered. "Not everything turns to dust… If it did… Everything you saw right now, would be dust."

Nel opened her eyes and stared at him, bewildered. Albel motioned with his head towards the valleys beyond the mountains. Nel followed his sight and looked at the land past the town of Airyglyph and saw mountains of rock and fields of grass. Past that she saw the lights of even more towns and her own country, the lush and fertile Aquaria.

"The future is in our generations," Albel continued as he looked down at the children playing in the snow once more. "What we do affects them; if we're good, or bad. Our children pay the price. For example, your father and mine, were great heroes of our countries. They affected the tides positively by sacrificing themselves for their countries…and for their children." At this, Albel ripped off a rock from the fence and tightened his claw around it angrily. When he opened the mechanical hand all that remained was dust.

"Each of us will eventually turn to dust…but our legacy doesn't…nor our stories, or ideals. We leave our small mark in the world and our flesh gives birth to plants which give life to animals and we go back to being alive…fragmented…but alive, within other creatures…and our memories remain in books or with children and friends." When he looked up to Nel he found she was staring at him in surprise.

Albel scoffed and rested his chin on his claw. "Thought I was all brawn and no brain, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Nel looked away and sneered. "Well you can't really blame me. You didn't say many intelligent things in the time we spent together in our journey." Silence ensued between the two once more.

"Thank you, Albel… I really needed that." Nel smiled genuinely at the captain.

Albel raised a fine eyebrow for a few seconds then smiled and stared off into the landscape. "Nah, thank you, Nel."

Nel smiled at her unlikely friend then sighed and looked again to the lush land beyond the mountains of snow. She remained inside her thoughts for a very long while, absorbing his words and recreating her view of the universe in her mind.

After a very long while she finally spoke up. "I guess in the end…all that remains is the balance…between everything…between our actions, our intentions, and the existence of all that is around us…"

Albel looked down and his mechanical arm and clenched both his fists in front of him. Before him, he saw both man and machine.

"Then this is my balance…I guess… The punishment for my weakness…," he closed his eyes as he breathed the words out.

Small, warm, and surprisingly delicate hands held both his fists tenderly, making Albel open his eyes. Jade eyes delved deep into pools of crimson as Nel smiled at Albel. His expression was unreadable.

"This isn't your punishment, Albel. It's just part of life. It's part of the balance. You failed the ceremony and you were supposed to die. But in exchange for your life, your father sacrificed himself. And even so, you were worth so much more that not even your father's life was enough…" At this, she squeezed his mechanical hand. "Don't you get it? Without you, we couldn't have saved the universe from Luther! That's how much you are worth…"

It was true; during their whole journey the captain's strength, agility and strategy had aided the group in reaching the Creator's lair without losing any members. He'd participated in countless battles and rescued his allies from many tight situations. Without his help, they would've surely failed to save everything that they knew. Albel knew this.

He sighed for the hundredth time that night and smiled at the small hands trying to cover his own. "So this isn't the end, hmm…?"

Nel rested her forehead against his and smiled. "No, it's just the beginning."

Albel looked up at her eyes and smirked. Nel straightened up and looked towards the east, his right hand still in her own small one.

Together they sat, enjoying each other's company, all night long, talking mindlessly about the world they lived in. Together, till sunrise; a sunrise that shone brightly with hope of a future.

__________________

Remember, Glou Nox was a hero of his country, but Albel Nox, was a hero of the universe.

Sorry for all the "..."s! it was a really quiet conversation XD

I'm debating, should I make this into a longer story…? R&R and lemme know. :3

Luv you all 3


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